Flower
retired
Official Website
Vehicle 1970
Common Bond 1971
World Woven 1972
Midnight Oil 1973
Still 19 2010
A post by Troggy got me thinking that this band needed an "Appreciation Thread" ...from Wikipedia...
The Ides of March is an American rock band that had a major US and minor UK hit with the song "Vehicle" in 1970. After going on hiatus in 1973, the band returned with their original line-up in 1990 and has been active since then.
Career
Early days
The Ides of March began in Berwyn, Illinois (a western suburb of Chicago) on October 16, 1964, as "The Shon-Dels." Their first record, "Like It Or Lump It," was released on their own "Epitome" record label in 1965.
In 1966, after changing their name to The Ides of March (a name suggested by bassist Bob Bergland after reading Shakespeare's Julius Caesar in high school), the band released their first single on Parrot Records - "You Wouldn’t Listen." The song reached #7 in Chicago, and #42 on the Billboard Hot 100 in spring 1966. This record and its follow-ups (all pre-"Vehicle") have been re-released on the Sundazed Records CD Ideology. By the end of the 1960s, the band added a brass section, although Bergland often doubled up on tenor saxophone.
Parrot singles:
"You Wouldn't Listen" / "I'll Keep Searching" (Parrot 304) 1966
"Roller Coaster" / "Things Aren't Always What They Seem" (Parrot 310) 1966
"You Need Love" / "Sha-La-La-Lee" (Parrot 312) 1966
"My Foolish Pride" / "Give Your Mind Wings" (Parrot 321) 1967
"Hole In My Soul" / "Girls Don't Grow On Trees" (Parrot 326) 1967
Kapp single:
"Nobody Loves Me" / "Strawberry Sunday" (Kapp 992) 1968
Like Columbia's The Cryan Shames, they had local success in the Chicago area without much label support.
Success
Having secured a recording contract with Warner Bros. Records, in 1970 the band released the track "Vehicle," which at the time became the fastest selling single in Warner's history. Fourteen seconds of the completed "Vehicle" master tape was accidentally erased in the recording studio (primarily the guitar solo), and the missing section was spliced in from a previously discarded take.
The song reached #2 on the Billboard record chart, and #1 on the corresponding Cash Box listings. It sold over one million copies, and was awarded a gold disc in November 1972. The following album, Vehicle, reached #55 nationally.
The band toured extensively throughout 1970 in support of many top acts, including Jimi Hendrix, Janis Joplin, and Led Zeppelin. The Ides of March were also among the participants in the "Festival Express" train tour documented in a 2003 film, although they were not featured in the film.
In 1971, the band released their second album Common Bond. The featured single was "L.A. Goodbye". The song stayed at #1 on regional charts for five weeks, but only reached #73 on the Billboard chart.
In 1972, the band moved to RCA Records and released World Woven,. At this point, the band departed from the "brass" sound (though one song featured a single trumpet) and the album produced no hit singles. In 1973, the Midnight Oil album was released. The band played its final show of their "first era" at Morton West High School in Berwyn that November.
Split
Between 1973 and 1990, The Ides of March went on an extended hiatus, during which Jim Peterik co-founded the band Survivor and co-wrote all of their platinum hits including "Eye of the Tiger," "The Search Is Over," "High on You" and "I Can't Hold Back".
He also began a career of writing collaborations which resulted in many platinum hits for other artists, most notably "Hold On Loosely," "Rockin’ Into The Night," "Fantasy Girl" and "Wild-Eyed Southern Boys" for .38 Special and "Heavy Metal" for Sammy Hagar
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